What a weekend! We just can’t stop saying how much we LOVE Rapid City! But let’s start at the beginning… Jenny and Indy were entered in Rally Saturday and Sunday and Marc would step into the ring again with his baby girl. No expectations made, we headed to South Dakota to enjoy a weekend among friends.
Saturday was an awesome day. Karma and Marc were up first. Marc did something funky with Karma’s lead on the down and back, and she was fighting to get her head comfortable. Marc was visibly frustrated in the ring, but he hung in there and ended up with 2nd in his class. So we’d see if he needed to go in for Reserve. Sure enough, he went back in and walked out with the purple and white ribbon! Yes, this is Karma’s SIXTH reserve, she is trying to give Auntie Kona a run for her money 🙂 But, the win was great for Marc who beat a pro-handler! Total confidence booster, thank you Judge Barbara Dempsey Alderman!
Indy and Jenny were up next. This time they had gone to Rally classes the last two Mondays, and Indy was learning to pay better attention. The course called for a down. Great. With his svelte body, Indy thinks downs on concrete are uncomfortable. Hmm, maybe some practice. Jenny got a great package last week from Jamie Walton (Calibre Vizslas) with a bunch of Rally tips. Do the walk-through at least three times. Check. Do a quick run-through. Check. Lots of downs on concrete with lots of treats. Check. Then it was time. This time Marc would stay ringside, and we’d make sure Indy knew where Marc was and that he WASN’T leaving. Our friend, Marty Sanford (Finnrok Vizslas), who has handled her boy Tuurk to a Rally Excellent, came for moral support and reminded Jenny to HAVE FUN!! Jenny and Indy did their run, and it went very well! Indy did his sit and his down out of the heel position, but besides that he did much better than normal. He really likes the “come front, finish left” action, and totally amped himself up after getting to do it. He got all showy and perked up his ears. SO CUTE! The last 5 signs flew by and then it was a big excited finish! Marc and Marty cheered their qualify — with a 92!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you Judge Edward Haas!
With the pressure off, Marc and Jenny headed to cheer on Kelli Kujawa (Designer Vizslas) and her boy Eddie in the Group ring, then lunch with Dave West, followed by a shopping trip to Cabella’s! Then it was Fightin’ Texas Aggie Football time and we got to watch them trample the Jayhawks! Pretty much a perfect day 🙂
We didn’t think it could get much better than Saturday’s events, and boy were we wrong! First up was Indy and Jenny in Rally. Marty surprised us by coming early to watch and give some much needed moral support. This time, the course was designed to show off movement by only having two stops, which also shows how well your dog pays attention and stays in the heel position. Heel position is definitely not Indy’s strength, but with fingers crossed, we headed in the ring. Indy did very well, but again did his down and sit out of position. He also had to re-try a few of the left turns, but he made it through all of his signs, and then was prancey and jumpy between the last sign and the finish sign — he knew he was almost done! When they finally passed the finish sign, Indy got to celebrate his run. At least five people stopped Jenny to tell her how fun it was to watch such a happy dog! Indy passed with an 83 today to FINISH HIS RALLY NOVICE TITLE! A bigthank you to Judge Sharon D Hodgens-Wood 🙂
Next it was Marc and Karma’s turn. First up was the class and it was Marc and our friend Steffie going head to head. Today Marc kept it together and looked much more relaxed, and it must have worked because he won the class! Yippee, now on to Winners Bitch…and Breeder/Judge Kathy Rust pulled out Marc and Karmie for Winners Bitch! AWESOME! This win was good for two points, but we were still hoping to cross over for the 3 point major. The dog who went Winners Dog belongs to our friend Kelli Kujawa (Designer Vizslas) and his win today finished his Championship! Kelli let her little boy Colton handle Hardy which gave Marc the advantage for Best of Winners, so we can’t thank Kelli enough! Sure enough Mrs. Rust pulled out Karma and Marc for Karma’s FIRST MAJOR!! All our friends were so supportive and gave us tons of hugs and encouragement. It was a great, great feeling!
Then we received a very exciting text from Pat. He was out in Nebraska with Karma’s littermate Zeke, and they qualified for their first Senior Hunt leg!! Zeke and Karma turned 15 months old on Saturday, so Zeke is really quite young, but obviously so ready! This text was the icing on the cake! What an absolutely perfect weekend 🙂
After pictures and more hugs, it was time to check out Mt. Rushmore! Marc and Jenny were joined by Dave and Steffie and even the puppies got to get out and get a picture with the 4 Presidents! Then it was time to hit the road and head back to Denver. We decided we REALLY like Rapid City!
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